Weather 
In a sleepless city, how late is too late?
A recent social media post has ignited debate on the absolute latest New Yorkers will board the subway,
“Anybody who lives or has lived here and takes the subway, what is your last call at night to take the subway? The latest you will take the subway?” asked _becsandthecity in a TikTok video.
Becca referenced an earlier post in which she discussed taking the subway a little after midnight on a Saturday, a time she considers within the range of “safe subway hours.”
“You can get on there at 12:15 and not even see a single crazy person,” she shared, noting that while midnight feels like fair game for her, the subway can be suspect at any hour.
“You can argue there are no safe subway hours. You can get on the subway at 7:00 am for your morning commute and see something crazy. Trust me, I have.”
She added that certain variables influence the safety of an after-hours ride.
“What neighborhood are you in? What neighborhood are you going to? What train are you taking? Where are you getting off? How far is your walk from when you get home?”
For reference, she was on the 2 train and a short walk from home.
She shared that in the comments section of her previous post, people called her out for being unhinged and unsafe transplant to the great city of NYC.
Undeterred, Becca maintains that on certain routes with a quick walk home, she’s taking the midnight train.
“I’m probably gonna do it again.”
Inviting commenters to share their opinions, she ended the video with the request: “Tell me your last call for the subway.”
Predictably, people had thoughts.
“As long as I’m sober enough to fight,” one commenter said.
Another cautious rider said her latest ride time is 3 pm in the afternoon.
“I fear the cutoff for a woman alone is 11 pm-6 am,” shared another.
Others echoed her stance on riding solo.
“If I’m with a group, 24/7. If I’m alone, 11 pm.”
“4 a.m.- 5 a.m. subways build character,” added another.
Others argued the train is a safer bet than a ride-share.
“24/7,” said a third, noting that she would rather risk her safety on the subway as she is more afraid of being assaulted or trafficked by a ride-share driver.
“If you don’t ride the subway whenever you need to, you’re not a real New Yorker,” said a rank puller.
“This is a transplant convo,” another commenter said. “There’s a reason our city runs 24/7.”
“Midnight, but my rule is if the platform is empty after 11 pm, I’m not taking it,” strategized another.
“It depends on where I am,” noted a long-time resident, sharing that in Manhattan she takes the train 24/7, but in Brooklyn or Queens she’s ponying up for an Uber.
Others suggested the best offense is defense.
“A true New Yorker I’ll go at any time because I’m not scared; I’ll show the crazies I’m crazy so they leave me alone,” admitted one rider.
“I ride at any time; I just sit in the middle car with the person who operates the doors,” said another
One NY native eloquently distilled her own subway experience and her advice for others.
“Born and raised here. As a woman, I don’t take the train by myself past 11 pm. I’m taking an Uber no matter the price. Anything can happen at any time, but you have fewer people to help you if something happens late at night,” she reasoned.
“People say New Yorkers won’t help you, but that’s absolutely not true. I’m not even cautious about the crazy people…what I want to avoid is the men who can’t take no for an answer…They get emboldened when there’s no one around.”
Indeed, grim stats back subway safety concerns.
From 1997 to 2019, the decades before Albany implemented criminal justice “reforms,” New York City experienced an average of two transit murders each year.
But from 2020 through last year, perpetrators have killed an average of seven mass-transit riders annually — and we’re on track to meet or exceed that figure for 2026.
Through August, felony assaults are up 10% from last year, to 435 — a total that’s 84% higher than the comparable figure from 2019.
Becca said she would never take the J train, a choice a chorus of commenters agreed with and seemingly for good reason.
Last week, an “emotionally disturbed” person repeatedly stabbed construction worker Mesias Lojano as the train both were riding neared Woodhaven Blvd.
Lojano, 59, was the subway system’s sixth murder victim of the year.
The Post has reached out to Becca for comment.
